Props/costume/equipment list

                              Prop/Costume/equipment list

This is a list of everything that will be required in order for us to film are video in the best possible way. The equipment list has helped us organise what people are brining in to help the filming process, and the use for the prop/equipment. Therefore, our group all know their roles and responsibilities in terms of props and equipment.

We have chose certain props to match conventions of the rap genre. This includes things such as bling and hoodies which both carry connotations linked to rap. This will make are video look authentic and a true representation of the genre. 

Main task - location Recce

                                       Location Recce

For the main task, are group decided to got on a location recce to photograph possible locations that we can use for the video. We included a wide range of different locations, which gives us a variety of locations to choose from. We decided to separate into singles, that way we could cover a large amount of distance, and get a large variety of shots between all four of us. 

The abandoned high rise building, is a great representation of poverty and really helps portray the conventions of the rap genre. This can be a symbolic of poverty in are rap video, and also contains an interior, that we could use given that we are granted permission to do so. Abandoned buildings are also typically empty, which is how Kendrick feels in the song role models, as he is lost without one. This represents the emotions portrayed in the lyrics.

This forgotten garage lot, creates a general image of poverty, and crime. The rust on the garage doors allows the spectators to visual the misuse and treatment of the property as well as the overgrown shrubs and grass amongst the location. This makes it look very much like a post apocalyptic world, this could immerse the viewers into the video even more, as some spectators use escapism for gratification. This links to Blumler and Katz uses and gratification theory, where they talk about the reasons behind people consuming media texts. This consists of Learning, Escapism, Personal relationships and entertainment.

These images are located around riverside park, which provides us with some unique locations to film at. The church is an iconic symbol of religion and culture, which is a vital element and convention in rap, as rappers are proud of their culture and where they come from. They also contain urban life, with the tower shot, which again is featured heavily in rap. The bridge will also be a vantage point, to take some high angle shots of the area down below.

These locations are located around the city centre, which is great for showing urban life. They contain high rise apartment blocks, which could show luxury, and the contrast with the themes of poverty. This shows the progression of rappers, and how they have become a success story from nothing. This could also be appropriately used in are video, as kendrick Lemar says "No role models and I'm here right now" This suggests how he has become successful without the guidance of a role model, therefore a high rise apartment building can represent this.

What locations would I accept and decline

In choosing are final locations, I have to take into account what themes the locations offer us, and if they meet the genre conventions of rap. Both of the high-rise buildings are definitely suitable for the rap genre. They show the contrast between wealth and poverty, and could be used to create juxtaposition, as both buildings are close together meaning we could capture them both through one shot. This matches genre conventions, as rappers such as Drake and The Game talk about their suffering past and luxurious present. Also, and abandoned building can be symbolic to the artists emotions, as it represents an empty shell without a soul (the people living inside). This can be applied to the artists intentions, as he feels "empty" without a role model.

I will also be taking forward the garage lot location. The atmosphere of the location creates a stereotypical "ghetto" vibe mainly due to the vandalisation of the area as these types of places are commonly associated with anti social behaviour. 

Digipak ideas and feedback

                                          Digipak ideas 

This post features ideas that my group could incorporate into the creation of the main task for the digipak of our music video. 

This is one idea of what the digipak could potentially be like. This design features a wide range of genre conventions, which help establish the rap genre for the spectators. I've also found a template, which could help us structure the layout of the digipak, when the whole group discuss each of are ideas.

Digipak template 

Conventions

Gun - The gun is an iconic symbol of crime and gang violence in the rap genre. This creates dominant themes of poverty and power in the rap genre. The main artist often uses guns in rap, to make them feared and seem powerful to the spectator. Richard Dyers star theory suggests that this is intended to construct a star image, which is good for institutions as they can sell more albums.

Jail bars - Jail bars symbolize the tough life rappers have had. This conforms to the rap genre, as stereo typically rappers talk about their rough upbringing as a child.

Police lights - This shows the conflict between authority and gangs. NWA represented this conflict in the majority of their music, and can be seen as part of the black lives matter movement currently happening in Americas society.   

Feedback

When gathering feedback for my drafted design of what the digipak could look like, I selected a group of individuals to analysis the piece, and give me ideas on how I could improve it for my next draft. 

What some of them said

Tom - I thought that the genre you were portraying was clear, as you heavily emphasised it was rap, due to the use of conventions. I also like how you have layered each image, so the blue tint from the police lights seep through the image. However, I feel as if it could be more artistic as rappers like Eminem create meaning behind their work. 

Reece - I liked the direct image used in the draft, as it engages and attracts the audience to the image. I also can clearly identify the genre of rap, as its portraying a gun violence, which is commonly seen in rap due to it being heavily associated with gang crime and gang culture.

Synopsis

                                    Main task Synopsis

What will be happening in our video?

Kendrick Lemar 

are video is going to follow the song "Role modelz" by the artist Kendrick Lemar, which was the same artist that featured in our prelim task. In contrast to our previous video, we are going to be focusing more on the narrative and storyline of the video, as this was one of our key improvements that we received whilst gathering are audience feedback and vox pox. A narrative that seems to fit well with the rap genre, is the circular narrative, which will also give us a chance to focus more on the star image as well, which could link to Richard Dyers theory in are final evaluation of our main task. 

We also plan to use more offsite locations involving interior and exterior settings such as shops, and underground subways to create a more urban feel to the video. This will also conform well with the
conventions of rap. We have also established that we want to create a journey that the artist experiences in the video, which audiences can clearly follow along without misinterpreting the concept of our idea. This will involve the artist going from point A to point B, showing the life and culture of the everyday world surrounding him, but without his role model, who does he have to guide him? 

We also want to include a variety of different shots, to keep the audience engaged and immersed. Due to our resources, we can use Drone shots to capture unique angles and shots that can't be captured otherwise. This will allow us to experiment with camera work, and help deliver a new perspective of the world and the messages we intend on creating in the music video. 

Down below is a detailed draft of our music video, created on a storyboard that helps give us an idea of the video shot by shot.

Pre-Lim Video Audience Feedback

          Pre-Lim task music video

A2 Media Prelim - Kendrick Lamar 'Alright' from Callum Warnes on Vimeo.

This is our music video produced by our group. The music video itself is Kendrick Lemar's "Alright" which was chosen after reviewing multiple different music videos, which concluded with this song being picked as we believed it to be suitable for a short pre lim task.

Pre-Lim audience feed back

What did your audience say in general?

Overall, the audience feedback was generally positive. They all agreed that the genre was easily identified, through the use of conventions and micro features, as well as being entertaining. However, there wasn't much of a story element.

What positives did they give you? They agreed that conventions such as graffiti, fast paced editing, and costume allowed them to identify the genre. They also liked the various editing techniques used which adds creativity into the video. They also said that the lip syncing was synced very well, and the narrative suited and conformed to the rap genre.

How many complaints did they give you? 

They said that they wanted to see more lip syncing as we only included one shot of lip syncing. They said this would break up the video, and make the video more immersive and interesting. They also established that there wasn't a storyline, and that we should consider using a story driven music video for the main task.

How many conventions did you hit in the prelim video?

We successfully managed to recreate the pace of a rap video, through editing which consisted of fast cuts and short takes. We also created key genre themes such as poverty crime and culture, by using correct locations containing graffiti, and churches to resemble these themes in the video

What improvements did your audience suggest?

They said we should include more lip syncing, which would help break up the video and make it more interesting for the spectator to watch. They also said we need to include a storyline as well as making it clear and easy for the spectator to acknowledge what is happening. They would also like to see more interior shots like the theatre, as makes for a good transition between different locations.

What are you therefore going to do about it when you plan and make your final music video?
We are going to plan and draft a storyboard of our music video, which will allow us to craft a story and set a narrative around it. A story board will also allow us to create a complex and in depth story which will satisfy the spectators. We will also include more lip syncing shots, as well as using indoor locations such as houses or/and the sixth form.

Vox-pop audience feedback

Vox-Pop Feedback Final A2 Media from Callum Warnes on Vimeo.

Pre-lim evaluation

            An evaluation of the Pre-lim task

For the duration of the pre-lim task, I served as the camera operator, with members of the group being Director of photography (Jacob), Director (Callum), and producer (Radjvnder).  This task required us to produce a thirty second long music video, using our chosen song for the pre-lim task. It’s safe to say, that we gathered a wide range of shots from close ups, to long shots, so we could for fill the 30 second time period and meet the briefs criteria. Along side this; our time management was of a high standard as we completed shooting across two whole lessons. We managed to save time by completing plans of our shots, as well as listing dates for camera bookings, so we could become collectively organized. I believe that we were successful during most area’s of the task. Our organization was key, and what helped out a lot, was the fact we created a group chat amongst Facebook, where we could post idea’s and have discussions about the task which kept us updated on anything we had planned.

Paper containing some of our planned out shots

I also believe that we used a range of genre conventions expertly, as we received feedback from gathering students based in the study room as well as creating a Vox Pox where we gathered sixth form students to answer different questions, who all agreed that the genre (rap) was well established during the Pre-lim task. We managed to achieve this, by using genre conventions such as graffiti, which can be seen down below. This creates themes of poverty, crime and anti-social behaviour, which are all linked and featured heavily in the rap industry, especially from artists such as Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, and The Game. To reflect the genre, we also wanted to contrast these negative themes, with luxury and wealth. As a result, we decided to use a prop (mise-en-scene) which resembles a throne, as it serves as an iconic symbol for royalty and wealth. 

However, one thing I thought we could improve on was the narrative, as it didn't really have any structure or story to it. This could of been due to the short length of the Pre-lim task. Although it could be described as Episodic, and can be compared to some modern day rap music video's, such as "100" by The Game. We will definitely work on our narrative for the main task so we can include a structured story for the video. Although it was done professionally, I think we could of Improved lip syncing by adding more into the music video. The syncing itself, was done very well, but we could of used more shots of the artist lip syncing to break up the video, resulting in a less repetitive music video.

Overall, I found that the task went extremely as a result of successful planing and team communication. We were able to achieve and meet the deadlines set, as well as time to edit, which was really beneficial as we could get filler shots if something was missing when editing the final piece. We also had great equipment at our espousal which helped increase the quality of our work, and the correct software, which was nice and simple to use. This allowed us to use various editing techniques which made the piece more interesting and unique. This task also served as a good indication of what to expect for the main task, as well as what we need to include and improve for the future tasks.

Full Page advert from a magazine

     A music magazine full page advert

This magazine advert features rap artist wretch 32. The advert displays the release date of his album, as well as including people who featured in it. This helps increase the awareness of the album, but also the artist himself, as well as the people features in it. The advert itself, looks very artistic due to the choices of colours such as black, blue, and white which are all conventional to the rap genre. This makes it easier for people to establish who the artist is, and the music the specialise in. The two most conventional colours in this ad, are black and blue. This is because blue represents gang culture, due to the "crips" using it as part of the gang symbol and identity. Black also represents death, violence, and fear which are all constantly displayed throughout rap. Especially through west coast artists as NWA has influenced a lot of artists through their anti police music. White is the "light at the end of the tunnel" colour, used to show how rappers have found there way from a dark place (poverty, conflict and corruption) to a bright place ( wealth and success). Rappers normally talk about how they thought through the struggles of childhood, and now have escaped and became something.

Urban locations can also be identified in the background. This looks like a apartment complex/ council flats which could suggest themes of poverty, and a tough upbringing. Urban locations are also very common within rap, as city life is part of their culture and the way they live which is why he has included a high rise building as it has connotations of city life. Urban locations are also associated with crime, and violence which is why the artist has included it in a rap album.

It's also apparent that this artist could be trying to focus on creativity, rather than profits. This could be seen in the artistic, funky style of fonts and design seen in this advert. This argues against Richard Dyers theory that stars are constructed to create finical benefits for the institutions. The image of the bird also represents freedom, as its not inclosed by anything. The fact that the bird is flying away from the building, could suggest that the rapper has finally escaped a life of crime, and violence as normally urban locations carry the stereotype of those connotations. This shows Wretch 32's creativity as an artist, as he uses symbolic imagery, to give the spectator messages of his life.

Richard Dyers star theory, can also be mentioned for this advert, as the artist is clearly the centre of attention, due to the cover image. However, the image is not direct so it adds mystery to his character, which could appeal to new audiences who haven't necessarily heard of this artist before.

This advert also displays images of bands, where people can buy and download the album, which helps create more revenue streams for the institutes, possibly leading to the increase of sales revenue and profits. This is important for the institutes, as stereotypically they want as much profits as possible, which is shown through Richard Dyers star theory.